Alice's Insurrection (Alice Clark Series) (11 page)

ALICE

Alice sighed audibly at the
mountain of dishes in the sink. She began washing them; taking sips of coffee in between. She wondered where her grandfather was. The abyss they are all threatened with, the field of the damned. Whichever place he was, she hoped he wouldn’t be there long. As hard as it was to imagine before, even more so now did she need her supposed destiny to save them all, to be real. She wondered if her new ability to heal the Fallen, forgive them; was given to her by God to help her prove that all kinds, Angels, human’s and Nephilim deserved to exist. Or worse, if it was to shower her with all the reasons they don’t deserve saving. She also wondered why Rogziel was so vengeful against her kind. If it was a personal vendetta or if he was in fact only following orders. Then the worst thought trickled down her brain stem, the End of Days was near. Not only for her kind and her kin’s kind, but all of mankind, all because God had declared her kind abominations and wanted to punish all the Fallen angels that defied him. She recalled having a discussion in her early religion class ages ago about how no one could wrap their heads around the so-called temper tantrum that had ensued from the behavior of his children.
We are all God’s children whether He likes it or not.
Her inner voice was full of rage. How could she convince God to forgive and save them all when she was still so angry with Him? She was trying not to think of her grandfather but something Rogziel said about the seals forced her to. Maybe he intended that one of the Fallen would sacrifice themselves for her. In a sense, evil doing a good dead. If that was the case then maybe there was hope for them all. A knock on the door interrupted her thoughts, and she was grateful.

“Dad?” She was more than surprised to see her father
especially in the disheveled form he arrived in. “Come on in.”

“I know you like to grieve alone
,” he began.

“I’m glad you’re here
, Dad.”

He continued, “But I love you and I don’t ever want to see you go through what you did the last time you lost someone you loved.
Wait, what?”

“I don’t want to either.
I think I’m still in shock and I can’t guarantee I won’t lose it here and there, but I am trying to process this without my usual methods.”

“I’m glad to hear that.
I know we all expect a lot from you. I’m here as your father and that is all.”

“Thank you
; that means a lot to me. As much as I don’t want to talk about it, we’re going to have to deal with this threat.” Alice jumped up on the counter with her mug and signaled her dad to sit down. “For right now, let’s just exist together.”

“That sounds perfect.”
He stood up and kissed her forehead before pulling her into a hug. “I love you so very much and I will do everything I can to protect you.”

“I know
, Dad.” A tear betrayed her as it rose from her eye and slid down her cheek. She wiped it on his sleeve and breathed in slowly. Growing up, she would have done anything to have a moment like this with her father. Even though so much was wrong in her life and the world, she was thankful that she was able to share this moment with him, as they had both worked incredibly hard for it.

“Oh dear, are those the dishes from last night?” He cringed.

“Yeah, we all had other stuff going on.” Her eyes glossed up, but she fought it and won, much to her relief.

“You wash, I’ll dry
,” he offered. She chuckled and nodded. How ordinary of them, how human. A half-breed and a Fallen washing dishes in the wake of yet another disaster.

Fallen and their Nephilim children
began flocking to her property, setting up tents and gathering around a blazing fire. It felt all too familiar to her. She felt bad since it was near freezing outside but they had all taken precautions to keep warm. They felt more comfortable being near her, though she felt it was more dangerous. She wondered if she had time to search for their light and prepare them to forgive themselves. Alice walked across the lawn toward the, fire holding a canvas. They all watched her, studying their savior’s movements. She approached the fire, hesitant. She had never destroyed her work before but she knew she could never move on with it lurking nearby. She chucked the canvas into the fire with force and watched the flames eat at it aggressively.

“What was that?”
a Fallen asked.

“The past
,” she answered. She stayed and watched it burn for several minutes before returning to the house. She wished that burning her drawing was the equivalent to letting the past go, but the pain she felt was melting into a molten rage, and she was afraid of who would end up on the other side of her anger.
Breathe.
She warned herself. She had to remind herself that they had all lost someone dear to them, not only her. She wasn’t sure what was gnawing at her more, the hole that had been dug out from the loss of her grandfather or the fear that this was only the beginning.

COLE

Cole and Jake leaned against
a pair of trees near the fire. They stared at it silently, somber in the absence of Alice. Cole knew she wasn’t in the mood to celebrate, but neither was he. That wasn’t at all what they were doing.

“What
plan are you brewing in that thick skull of yours?” Jake asked, poking Cole in the head with his index finger.

“What are you talking about?”

“Really? You’re playing dumb. If you have a plan, I want in.”

“Jake
, if I had a plan you’d be the first to know. I honestly don’t have a clue how this is going to go.”

“Damn
,” Jake took a swig of his beer.

“What?”

“I really thought you might have come up with an idea. I was hoping, anyway.”

“Sorry
, man. Today I’m just drinking this beer and hoping things work out.” He was hopeful but he wasn’t betting his money on hope. He knew that the Angels meant business. He felt stronger than he ever had in his life but his strength was useless in this case. At one point he had put faith in God that He would choose to save them, that Alice would convince Him to. His faith was wearing thin and it hurt to know He didn’t even care. “Together till the end?” He raised his beer to Jake.

“Here, here
,” Jake and the others near him said. Cole looked around at the familiar sight of Fallen and Nephilim. He was thankful they had all chosen to stand up and fight the Angels with them against all the odds stacked against them. He stared up at the bedroom window longingly, knowing she needed time to process all that had happened and all that was coming their way. He didn’t want to push her away by trying to be near her and he knew how she was when she was in mourning. She was fighting with all her strength not to allow her own feelings and the feelings of those around her to break her down like last time. He was so proud of her, of her ability to stand strong in the face of chaos and torment.

“I’m going to head in
,” Cole said.

“Night
, brother,” Jake nodded. Cole chucked his beer at the fire before heading toward the house. He was anxious to determine what sort of mood Alice would be in. Lately it had ranged between hysterics and wanting jumping his bones. Clearly he was partial to one over the other. He entered the house to find Alice sitting at the table with a beer.

“Alice?”

“Yeah?”

“Are you alright?”
he asked sitting down across from her.

“I suppose I am.
I’m angry. At myself, mostly.”

“Why’s that?”

“Shouldn’t I be distraught? Shouldn’t I be miserable in mourning?”

“Maybe you’re just dealing with it differently this time
,” Cole offered, resting his hand on her own hand.

“Maybe I’m not dealing with it at all.”

“I doubt that. You don’t have to slip into a chaotic depression to prove you loved him and that you miss him.”

“Don’t I?” Her eyes began to water.
She looked to him for answers he wished he could give her. He cupped her face in his hands and knelt down next to her.

“You have been through so much in your lifetime
that your mind is trying every which way to deal with the shitty hands you’ve been dealt. You are the strongest soul I have ever known and when you feel weak, lean on me. I’m here for you always.” He kissed her lips gently and she fell into his arms with her arms wrapped around his neck. He wrapped his numbing shield around her to soothe her aching. “I love you.”

I love you too
,
her voice whispered. He scooped her up into his arms and carried her off to bed. He crawled in next to her when she refused to let go of her grip around his neck. Once he had laid down next to her, she nuzzled into his neck, her favorite spot, she often told him. He wrapped his arms around her and soothingly strummed her back with his fingers, while kissing the top of her head. He was thankful she was allowing him to be with her, to soothe her pain if only a little and if only for one night.
One night at a time,
he thought.

ALICE

Alice awoke without feeling really
rested. Her life was made up of chaos and despair. She could feel the fight within her, that light in the depths of her soul that was meant to save them all, calling out to her not to lose faith. She glanced at the clock to find it was merely six a.m. She stared at the sleeping body of Cole and wondered how it was he managed to stay so together and strong as he too had endured the same hell she had. She knew in that moment she wasn’t meant to understand her gifts or her destiny either. She was only meant to endure and survive it. Though the death of her grandfather weighed heavily on her heart, she knew he would want her to carry on and find her strength once again.

Alice?
Can you come down stairs as quickly as possible?
Briathos’ voice rang in her mind.

On my way.
She was worried about what he wanted. She darted around her room searching for clothes, sniffing them to see how many times she had worn those jeans and thermal shirt. “Oh who cares,” she whispered, as she got dressed. She quickly went downstairs searching for her Fallen roommate, finding him in the living room. “Okay, why are you freaking me out at six a.m.?”

“Sorry
, I didn’t want to startle you but I can feel it, it’s happening.”

“Briathos
, it’s been a long few days so can we not be cryptic?”

“Right
, my apologies. The fourth seal has been broken by the Lamb.”

“Shit.”
Cole, wake up and get downstairs.
Alice threw her hair back into a ponytail to stop herself from messing with her hair while her nerves ran rampant. “I still don’t understand why “the Lamb” would do that to us.”

“You mean to them.”

“What’s going on?” Cole asked as he groggily entered the room.

“Right.
No matter how many times I remind myself I’m a half breed, I still think I’m part of mankind, how vacuous of me. Okay why would He do that to mankind if they are loved by His Father so damn much?”

“That is how it was written
that it had to be done. Alice, I don’t know why God or the Lamb do what they do or why it is nearly impossible to change their minds. We could debate on this subject matter for a lifetime and the truth is, it doesn’t matter. It is the way it was designed to be. We have to stop the seals from being broken and honestly, I’m not sure if we can. That’s not even the worst part.”

“What is then
? Because this sounds pretty awful to me.”

“Death is the fourth horseman.
And with him follows Hades. Remember when we spoke about the guardianship?”

”Yes,” they said in unison.

“The evil beings, the Fallen that followed Lucifer during the fall and are loyal to him still, will roam, visible, on this earth, causing incredible horrors. The first Horseman of Conquest will continue to aid in what you call government power, which is nothing more than conquering all those that oppose, as it seems your government has been doing since the first seal was broken. All of the Horseman will be more visible as they gather to ride together. The second Horseman of War combined with Conquest will start World War III within, I believe, days of the final Horseman’s release. The third Horseman of Famine, with the help of the first two Horseman, will make it impossible for the poor and middle class to be able to afford nourishment for themselves and their families. The fourth Horseman will unleash the darkest of evils and with the combination of all of the Horsemen and the hell that follows them, they will be given the power over a quarter of the earth and they will kill by sword, by famine, and by plague that quarter of the population.”

“That’s almost two billion people!
Can they be stopped?” she stood baffled.

“Sadly
, I don’t believe so.” Briathos felt useless as a Fallen. “Wait! There was talk in my early days that if someone of worthy blood came forth to speak on humankind’s behalf to the Almighty Himself, that He could stop the unopened seals from being opened and even re-seal the first four, if the Lamb had opened them unjustly.”

“How do we find out who that is?” Cole asked.

“I believe that person is Alice,” Briathos answered honestly.

“Me?
Wait, I’m supposed to save all the Fallen, their abominations, of which I am one by the way, and mankind? How would I do this exactly?” She was infuriated now.

“I’m not sure how exactly.
I believe that because of your heritage, He will speak to you on behalf of mankind and while you are there you can speak for the rest of us, as you are part human and part Fallen.”

“My heritage?”

“Your blood line can be traced to Enoch, he who first asked God to accept his Fallen Angels back home and who was denied many lifetimes ago.”